Executive Chef Greg Collier of the Red Fish Grill makes this variant of a classic New Orleans dish, grilling redfish and gilding it with crabmeat and lemon-butter sauce.

Soak the hickory chips to increase the smoky flavor of the fish. Other fish that take well to this treatment: speckled trout, red snapper, grouper, mahi-mahi, sea bass, swordfish or tilapia.
Grilled redfish and crabmeat with lemon-butter sauce
1 recipe lemon butter sauce (recipe follows)
Salad oil (not olive oil) for brushing on the grill rack and fish fillets
1/4 cup good-quality dry white wine, divided, plus a few tablespoons more
6 skinless redfish fillets, 6 to 8 ounces each, neatly trimmed ("belly" removed if still attached)
2 tablespoons Creole seasoning
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat, picked through
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Warm French bread
Clean the grill rack with a wire brush and preheat until it is hot. Then add wet or dry hickory or other wood chips. Brush the rack with a thick wad of paper towels saturated in salad oil, holding the paper towels with long-handled tongs.
While the grill is preheating, prepare the lemon butter sauce, and keep warm.
Brush both sides of fillets with salad oil, and season each side of each fillet evenly with 1/2 teaspoon Creole seasoning.
When grill is ready, cook fillets about 2 1/2 to 4 minutes per side. Cooking time will vary according to heat of the grill and thickness of the fillets. Watch closely so fish does not overcook. Use a broad spatula to turn the fillets.
When you think the fish is approaching the level of doneness you prefer, insert the tip of a knife into the thickest part of the fillet. Then lay the tip of the blade flat against the inside of your wrist. If the tip feels hot, the fish should be done.
If cooking the fillets in batches, transfer them to a heat-proof platter placed in a warm spot, and drizzle the fillets with white wine to keep them moist while grilling the remaining fish.
While the fillets are grilling, saute the crabmeat. In a heavy 12-inch saute pan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add 1/4 cup wine and heat for 30 seconds. Add the crabmeat and season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
Cook until the crabmeat is just warmed through, about 2 minutes, lightly tossing so the lumps of crabmeat stay intact. Use immediately.
To serve, arrange a fish fillet on a heated dinner plate. Top each with a portion of the crabmeat, and spoon 3 tablespoons sauce over it.
Lemon butter sauce
Makes about 1 1/2 cups
1 1/2 cups good-quality dry white wine
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon minced or very finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon minced shallots
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon (packed) minced fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons heavy cream
7/8 pound (3 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into about 20 pats
1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
In a heavy 3-quart saucepan, combine wine, lemon juice and zest, vinegar, shallots, garlic and thyme. Cook over medium-high heat until the liquid in the mixture reduces to 1 to 2 tablespoons, about 5 minutes.
Add the cream and cook until the liquid in the pan reduces to 1 to 2 tablespoons, about 4 minutes. (The sauce may be prepared to this point up to 45 minutes ahead and left at room temperature. Reheat the cream mixture briefly over medium heat, whisking constantly, before proceeding to the next step.)
Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook as you add 2 pats of butter at a time, whisking constantly, until all the butter is added and incorporated into the sauce; each addition of butter should be almost completely melted before adding more. This will take about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in salt and pepper.
If serving immediately, strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a small saucepan. If not serving promptly, strain the sauce into the top of a double boiler and serve as soon as possible, definitely within one hour, keeping the sauce warm, uncovered, over hot (not simmering) water.